HC asks law enforcers to prevent 122 PLFSL loan defaulters from leaving country

The High Court has ordered law enforcers to prevent 122 loan defaulters of People's Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (PLFSL) from leaving the country.

The law enforcing agencies were directed to remain alert and vigilant so that the borrowers, who did not appear before the court in compliance with its January 21 order, do not leave Bangladesh territory till further order, the HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar said in the full text of an order released today.

In the full-text of the order, the HC bench also asked law enforcers to provide all necessary assistance to the official liquidator of PLFSL in finding out the borrowers.

The bench passed the order on March 9 during hearing a petition filed by Bangladesh Bank in 2019 seeking its permission to liquidate PLFSL, a non-bank financial institution.    

The liquidation process began after the board of PLFSL informed the central bank in April 2019 about its inability to pay back its depositors' money despite the maturity of the deposits.

During the hearing on March 9, 56 loan defaulters appeared before the bench in line with its earlier summons order. Among them, five defaulters paid Tk 24 lakh through checks to the PLFSL.

PLFSL's lawyer Mejbahur Rahman received the checks before the HC and forwarded them to the provisional liquidator of PLFSL.

A total of 164, out of 286 loan defaulters summoned, have appeared before the HC bench on February 23, 25, and March 9.

The remaining 122 borrowers did not appear before the court yet in compliance with the directive.

Meanwhile, on March 9, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Khan virtually consulted with the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), governor of Bangladesh Bank, and chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for solutions regarding PLFSL and other financial institutions.

No lawyer or court official was allowed to participate in the discussion.